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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
NEW YORK (AP) -- Even though he's only a rookie, Gookie Dawkins could guess what he'd see from Armando Benitez.
"I knew he threw hard and I was just sitting on a fastball,"
said Dawkins, whose single in the 12th inning Thursday gave the
Cincinnati Reds a 2-1 victory over the New York Mets.
|  | | Ken Griffey leaves the batters' box with an eye on his home run Thursday. |
"I was just telling myself, 'Be strong, be comfortable.' I told
myself, 'I'm a hitter.' I tried to stay back, keep my balance, not
try to do too much," he said.
Sean Casey led off the 12th with a walk from Benitez (1-2) and
moved to second on a sacrifice. After pinch-hitter Hal Morris was
walked intentionally, Dawkins slapped an 0-1 pitch to left field.
Dawkins, called up earlier this week from Double-A Chattanooga
when shortstop Barry Larkin went on the disabled list, had been
4-for-27 in his career before the game-winning hit.
"It's good to come into New York and take two out of three.
Maybe it's the tonic we needed to get us going," Reds manager Jack
McKeon said.
Danny Graves (3-0) pitched 2 1/3 innings of hitless relief for
the win, and Scott Sullivan worked the 12th for his first save.
The first seven innings of the game were a pitcher's duel
between New York's Glendon Rusch and Cincinnati's Steve Parris, who
allowed only a combined nine hits over the first seven innings.
Ken Griffey Jr. gave the Reds a 1-0 lead in the fourth when he
hit his sixth homer, a solo shot off Rusch.
"We held the team to one run and that was a well-pitched
ball game. That's really the story," said Griffey.
Robin Ventura hit his sixth homer of the season leading off the
bottom half off Parris.
"They both were kind of matching each other, staying out of
trouble and getting out of it when they had to," Ventura said.
Both teams missed early scoring chances. The Mets had two
runners on with one out in the first, but Ventura grounded into an
inning-ending double play.
Parris doubled with two out in the third but Rusch got Pokey
Reese on a harmless fly to center.
Parris allowed four hits and three walks in seven innings.
Rusch allowed six hits in 7 2/3 innings, striking out six.
Game notes
The Mets are off to their best start since 1988 when they
opened with a 16-6 record. ... The Mets are 7-2 in one-run games.
... Rusch made his third start and has allowed only five earned
runs in 22 2-3 innings (1.99 ERA). ... The Reds lost 11 of their
first 20 games and haven't had a winning record in April since
1994. ... Griffey's homer was the 404th of his career, leaving him
two behind Cal Ripken Jr. for 29th place on the career list. ...
Dmitri Young singled in the sixth to give him a season-high
six-game hitting streak and five hits in his last nine at-bats.
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Baseball Scoreboard
Cincinnati Clubhouse
NY Mets Clubhouse
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